“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
– Genesis 12:2-4
4,000 years ago in the ancient east, the world was a dangerous place; full of sickness, plague, famine, and drought. Struggling humanity survived through the enactment of a covenant — a permanent promise that made two tribes one. Two families would come together for a greater purpose, bringing their strengths, assets, and property. These ancient covenants were made during a ceremony wherein the two tribes faced each other, sang songs, and performed sacrificial rites. The tribal chiefs would exchange coats as a sign of honor and then they would pace back and forth in the blood of slain animals reciting the oaths of loyalty they were making to each other. So what does all of this have to do with us as Christians today? God made a promise to Abraham and He chose him to be the father of a new family; a tribe that is God’s tribe. A people that represents and lives out the values of the one true Yahweh God: a God of mercy, a God of compassion, a God of love, and a God of might and power. In Genesis, God and Abraham conduct their own covenant ceremony in which God affirms, “I will be your God, and you will be My people.” So today, you and I remain children of God in a covenant promise. If you proclaim Christ as your Lord, you’re in covenant with God. You’re His beloved child and everything He is doing in your life is for your benefit, even when it hurts. |
Prayer
Jesus, I pray that you would bring the fullness of your Kingdom to this earth in and through me.
Reflection
What does being in covenant relationship with God mean to you?
One Response
The death and resurrection of Jesus put an end, once and for all, to the sacrifice of animals. https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/12/part-six-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/